Being there for Dad’s last days

A year after losing her husband, she became a full-time caregiver for her father as he fought cancer, in a battle that changed them both

by Sandra Choo, todayonsunday, Apr 22, 2012

I didn’t expect pneumonia to take away my husband Martin’s life on April 13, 2009, 13 days before he turned 40.

Ever since 2001, when he became wheelchair-bound with Machado Joseph Disease (a rare neuro-degenerative disease that robs its sufferers of muscle control), it was common for him to be hospitalised for various complications.

That last time, we had seven days to bid each other goodbye. On the seventh night, I finally uttered to him the three heartfelt words he had been waiting for eight years to hear – “I love you”. He died peacefully at dawn.

I wish I had given him more time and love when he was alive, which, due to my busy work schedules and…